Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheesefare Sunday)

Date: 08 March 2008 11:56:09

Today [the sun has gone down here, so in Orthodox time it is Sunday] is the Sunday of Forgiveness, or Cheesefare Sunday -- so called as it is the last day for cheese, and other dairy, to be eaten until the end of the Great Lent Fast. Great Lent begins for us Orthodox on Monday.

As I think I have done each year for the past two years, I commend the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America's Great Lent section of their website to you, should you be interested in any of the commemorations and liturgical celebrations we have. I'll probably refer to it often throughout Great Lent.

The Gospel Reading at Divine Liturgy (Matthew 6:14-21) reminds us of the importance of forgiving others, as well as a reminder that our fasting is not meant to be hypocritical or an occasion for 'showing off'. Through the remembrance of Adam and Eve's expulsion from Paradise [hence the icon to the left], we are reminded of our journey to Paradise -- the goal of our Christian life being to return to that union with God. And, of course, remembering the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ which has once again opened the doors of Paradise to us.

The day also contains a special service, Forgiveness Vespers. The wonderful Lenten prayer of St Ephrem the Syrian, which will occur in many Lenten services, makes its first appearance:

O Lord and Master of my life!
Take from me the spirit of sloth,
faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk.

But give rather the spirit of chastity,
humility, patience, and love to Your servant.

Yea, Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother ir sister, for You are blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen.

and at the end of the service all approach the priest, and ever other person present, and ask for forgiveness.

I have begun reading Fr Thomas Hopko's The Lenten Spring and shall, God willing, continue to read it during Lent, as well as dipping again into my name saint's work, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.

I'll leave you with one of the prayers from our Matins service tomorrow; wherever you may be in the journey to Easter, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

We were expelled of old, O Lord, from the Garden of Eden, for wrongly eating from the tree. But, O my God and Saviour, You once again have restored us through Your Cross and Your Passion. Thereby, O Master, fortify and enable us purely to finish Lent and to worship Your holy resurrection, Pascha our saving Passover, by the prayers of Your Mother.